FLF26 Fiction Highlights

This family saga is told through the lens of the third generation of women who surround Lemohang Ntoi, the head of the family, as he struggles to hold onto life as he knew it. It is the Ntoi women’s assertiveness and drive that threaten Lemohang’s position and ideals for this family. We see their attempts at healing past trauma while they pursue their dreams. Fabrics of Love navigates issues around culture, legacy, love and marriage.

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She must find her own place amongst the stars. Caroline Herschel has always lived in the shadows. Beholden to her wildly popular older brother, William, who rescued her from servitude, she's worked hard to build a life for herself – one where she can go unnoticed and repay the debt she believes she owes him. But when her brother becomes obsessed with sweeping the stars, everything changes. Newly appointed as the King's Astronomer, William is rushed away from the bustling streets of Bath to the quiet countryside of Windsor. When Caroline makes a discovery that could send her right back to the people she was rescued from, she has no choice but to leave her carefully constructed life and follow her brother. Taking up the position as William's assistant, Caroline resolves to learn everything she can about astronomy. But the more she understands, the more she falls in love with her telescope, and soon, she discovers that she might be good at the science, great, even, and that the stars could offer her the freedom she's always secretly wanted. When it’s clear that Caroline is just as much the astronomer as her brother, she realizes she must break free from the life she has lived and find her own place in the night sky. Based on the true story of Caroline Herschel, The Woman and Her Stars shines a light on a woman who was raised to believe she was worth nothing more than to serve others, but whose genius and resolve made her one of the world’s leading astronomers. An awe-inspiring story set within the societal boundaries of the Georgian era, it’s a hopeful journey of self-discovery, familial bonds, and passion.

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Danny Marais is the twin brother of the beautiful, talented Charlie. The Wildest Beauty is a remarkable novel, Danny’s account of their childhood . . . up to their eventual enlistment in the First World War. From their placidly peaceful Stellenbosch schooldays to, ultimately, the Battle of Delville Wood, Danny keeps a loving but half-resentful eye on his brother.The novel is also an intimate account of a small group of friends and family, inter alia the loving parents left behind in Stellenbosch during wartime. And then there is Danny’s life-changing encounter, in the darkened streets of wartime London, with a wryly cynical, battle-scarred officer.In the midst of the greatest conflict in history, facing the wild beauty of ‘the abyss of unmeaning’, Danny discovers the power of love, between friends, family – and even foes.

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Who polices the police? A cop murders his family and then turns the gun on himself. In the shed behind his cottage is a cache of weapons: Russian automatics, handguns, 9mm, .38s. You don’t need forensics to work out what’s gone wrong. This is a cop with a side racket. Which gets the attention of Captain Zara Dewane of the Internal Crime Unit. A single mom, known among cops as the Jackal. What Zara uncovers about the family murder puts her in the firing line. There are cops running guns stolen from the police armoury. There are cops selling guns to gangsters. Thing is, the money chain goes deep into the police hierarchy. Even fingers the political bosses. Close her down, comes the order from on high. Kill her, in other words. Making Zara and her family targets. With only one way out.

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In a work of historical fiction, part prose, part poetry, South African writer Karen Jennings reimagines the story of Swartbooij and his son Titus, loyal Khoisan servants to the colonists who, once betrayed, became bitter enemies. In 1739 ten settler farmers with ox wagons and trading goods, and several Khoisan servants, spent a month with the Groot Namaqua at the kraal of Chief Gal. Bribed with promises of cattle, the servants broke into the kraal. Several people died, including the Chief. When the settlers reneged on their promise Swartbooij and Titus retaliated by inciting raids on the settler community. The ensuing cycles of revenge eventually led to a brutal massacre of Khoisan women and children.

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